Fire on drone-hit tanker Aframax Rio put out as Cyprus Mail traces its manager

Russia's transport ministry said on 7 October that the open fire on the tanker Aframax Rio, struck by uncrewed surface vessels off Sochi the previous evening, had been extinguished and that a joint team had begun dealing with the aftermath, the Cyprus Mail reports. Russia's environmental watchdog, Rosprirodnadzor, said it had detected no oil pollution at sea or on the shore, though access to beaches remained restricted. Citing shipping records, the paper says the Liberian-flagged ship is owned by Rio Enterprises SA and managed by Hellenic Tankers, which Cyprus's shipping deputy ministry says was founded and is chaired by Andreas Hadjiyiannis, a former president of the Cyprus Union of Shipowners. No one had claimed the attack by Wednesday afternoon.

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